The parents of a Harris County boy who allegedly was sickened by salmonella after eating at Iguana Joe's in Humble has sued the restaurant.

Public health officials closed the eatery on June 25 after reports of illness among customers. Six inspections in the previous six weeks unveiled numerous food safety violations.

According to news reports, at least a dozen people - including children - reported getting sick after eating at the restaurant on Father's Day weekend.

Justin and Regina Kessler filed a personal injury lawsuit, individually and on behalf of their young son, in Harris County District Court this week accusing Iguana Joe's of serving "contaminated food products."

According to the July 22 complaint, the family ate at the restaurant on June 18. About three days later, the boy "became fussy and suffered a loss of appetite." He became ill with a fever and diarrhea, the lawsuit said. After a week, the child's pediatrician ordered a stool culture, which returned positive for salmonella.

Unusual circumstances

"These are some of the worst violations we've seen. You usually don't see a health department completely shut down a restaurant," said John C. Ramsey, the Houston-based lawyer representing the Kesslers.

Bill Marler, whose Seattle-based law firm Marler Clark specializes in food safety cases and also is representing the family, said the circumstances are unusual because of the number of times the health department found ongoing violations.

"Usually, you see a restaurant be really responsive," he said.

Efforts to reach Iguana Joe's representatives for comment were unsuccessful.

According to Harris County food inspection records, officials visited the Iguana Joe's at 18319 W. Lake Houston Parkway on May 9 and found two violations, including inadequate dishwashing, warranting another inspection. A visit four days later revealed four violations, including two that "are most often associated with foodborne illness outbreaks according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration."

Bad hygienic practices

A third inspection on May 31 found trouble with food contact surfaces, but the restaurant didn't require a follow-up visit.

County officials returned on June 21 as part of a foodborne illness investigation and discovered that the eatery wasn't using good hygienic practices. Inspectors showed up again a day later, destroyed 17 pounds of food and issued a citation because the restaurant had seven violations including improper food temperature and cross-contamination, and still lacked good hygienic practices.

A June 24 probe based on a foodborne illness investigation also warranted a citation. That day, the restaurant had 13 violations and 45 pounds of food was discarded. The restaurant was shut down the next day because of "continued critical violations that put the public's health at risk," a news release said.

The latest inspection on June 29 found no violations, but the closure remains in place.

Foodborne illness can result in hospitalization and even death.

In May, Brazos County health officials announced that the handling or undercooking of ground beef at a Coco Loco on George Bush Drive in College Station was the likely cause of E. coli cases that sickened at least five people in April, including two young brothers. Jack Melton, 4, and 18-month-old Noah Melton landed in intensive care with acute kidney failure. The College Station boys spent weeks recovering at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston.